Marketing Land » Kelsey Joneshttp://marketingland.com
Marketing LandTue, 31 Mar 2015 21:33:22 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=3.9.3Why CEOs Need To “Get” Social Mediahttp://marketingland.com/why-ceos-need-to-get-social-media-62008
http://marketingland.com/why-ceos-need-to-get-social-media-62008#commentsTue, 22 Oct 2013 13:00:51 +0000http://marketingland.com/?p=62008Mark my words: If it isn’t already, social media is going to be like email for all tech users: indispensable. It is no longer acceptable for CEOs to cast social media aside because they either don’t understand it or don’t want to mess with it. Just like the doubters that thought email wouldn’t go anywhere, […]

]]>Mark my words: If it isn’t already, social media is going to be like email for all tech users: indispensable.

It is no longer acceptable for CEOs to cast social media aside because they either don’t understand it or don’t want to mess with it. Just like the doubters that thought email wouldn’t go anywhere, social media has changed the way our society communicates today.

This shift has been slow going for marketers trying to convince their bosses and those at the top that social media is worth their time. But we should be past the point of having to convince CEOs to approve social media marketing campaigns and efforts. Just as the employees of decades past had to fight for office email, the marketers of today should continue to fight for social media as a key component of online marketing and branding efforts.

Proving Social Media ROI

Many company owners and department heads demand to know the ROI of social media. The revenue possibilities that come with this medium have been illustrated over and over again:

White Glove Social Media‘s report on a business gaining 1300% increase in revenue from Pinterest: “[Pinterest] campaigns generated a better return on investment than other marketing strategies like paid search campaigns or targeted ads on Facebook the merchant has tried,” Price says. Additionally, Bourbon & Boots has determined that shoppers who come to the site directly from Pinterest are 20% more valuable than those from other channels because they tend to spend more and buy more frequently.

The Next Web’s roundup of social media case studies, illustrating the power of paid Facebook ads: “Vamplets is a small business that makes baby vampire dolls and they introduced Facebook ads as a new channel for driving revenue. Despite a fairly small Facebook ad budget of $250 per month, they’re generating an additional $1,000 in revenue, directly tracked to the ads themselves. This gives them a positive ROI of 300%.”

Social Media Examiner reports: how social media helped Cisco shave $100,000+ off a product launch via social media.

By customizing social media marketing to the company, all industries have a real chance at additional exposure, website traffic, and revenue from simply implementing social media efforts.

At A Company Level

At a bare minimum, a company should have a Google+ page (and individual profiles for its blog authors and top executives for Google Authorship) and a Facebook page. LinkedIn is also a good idea for B2B companies. Pinterest (and other social shopping networks like Wanelo) are great for e-commerce sites especially, as well as other businesses that can creatively pin related industry products.

When it comes to Twitter, a company’s Twitter feed should promote its own content, as well as related topic articles that educate or provide a service to followers.

For an example on how almost industry can use social media, let’s imagine a company called Harry’s Plumbing. Harry’s has two locations in Kansas City and is thinking about getting on social media. Here’s just the tip of the iceberg as to what Harry could do on social media:

Facebook: Share specials, Kansas City events

Twitter: Unique discount codes, retweet and follow Kansas City residents (searching their bios or tweets for mentions of #KC or Kansas City), share articles about bathroom cleaning or the dangers of not caring for a septic system.

If management thinks there is nothing for their company to post on social media, they just haven’t thought hard enough.

At A Personal Level

Because social media has given the public unprecedented access to celebrities, it is important for companies to begin crafting a presence for the top level management online. Not only is this a good idea for Google Authorship, but being able to follow the CEO of a multi-million dollar company (or even Harry in Kansas City) is something many users love because it allows them to get to know the people they give money to, and it helps to humanize the brand.

The longer CEOs and top-level management take to “get” social media, the more it is going to hurt their revenue, brand exposure, website traffic, and potential engagement with key customers. While new ways to communicate have always brought resistance throughout history, helping CEOs with cold hard facts and case studies will hopefully help them come around.

]]>http://marketingland.com/why-ceos-need-to-get-social-media-62008/feed5Beyond Gathering Likes: Moving Past Followers & Fanshttp://marketingland.com/what-to-do-beyond-the-like-moving-past-followers-fans-59199
http://marketingland.com/what-to-do-beyond-the-like-moving-past-followers-fans-59199#commentsMon, 23 Sep 2013 13:45:26 +0000http://marketingland.com/?p=59199When social media was new, the main go-to metrics were how many Twitter followers, Facebook Fans (remember those?) and even MySpace friends you had. However, social media marketing is continuously evolving, and marketers are learning that it is important to go beyond the numbers and focus on actually engaging this consumer base they have built. […]

]]>When social media was new, the main go-to metrics were how many Twitter followers, Facebook Fans (remember those?) and even MySpace friends you had. However, social media marketing is continuously evolving, and marketers are learning that it is important to go beyond the numbers and focus on actually engaging this consumer base they have built.

The C-suite is realizing there is real potential in gaining a large following that is also willing to engage with your brand. By providing the type of value and content your target audience wants to see on its news feed, there is a high potential for ROI.

The Right Content

Having the content your target audience is interested in is crucial to your social media success. This goes beyond Facebook and Twitter, however. Your company should also have a blog that is regularly publishing high-quality, interesting content. Websites with blogs have more traffic and indexed pages than those that don’t.

Tie in your blogging with your social media: make them go hand-in-hand. For instance, if your blog has a new post on productivity, look for related content to tie in and publish the same week, referring back to the blog post.

The “media” of your social media content is important as well. Blog posts with photos are great for Facebook, as updates with photos generally get more clicks and engagement than updates with text only.

You can also create visuals from your blog post content by pulling out important quotes and putting them on a photo background (using a service like QuotesCover or PicMonkey if you don’t have Photoshop) and then posting those on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram.

Facebook users also really like cartoons and humor. This can personalize your company and make your audience trust you.

Choose Your Promotions Wisely

Promotional content is something that can also affect audience trust. Whenever you are self-promotional on any social media platform, do so very wisely. Make sure it is something customers actually want. A Facebook-exclusive promotion for your worst product that has terrible reviews won’t be effective at all.

Ask your customers what they want and follow through. See what others in your industry are doing and strive to be better than they are. All users like free shipping, free gifts and discounts they aren’t getting anywhere else. Just make sure it is free shipping for products they want, free gifts they will use and discounts on products they need.

Customer Service

Social media isn’t just for telling people about your products and services or sharing cool cat videos. Many consumers now prefer to contact companies via social media rather than going through phone or a traditional support form. (After all, isn’t composing a tweet so much easier than filling out an entire contact form?)

This means companies have to use social media as a customer service channel, no matter how much social media influence a person has. It’s safe to say that even Oprah has a friend with only 40 twitter followers. People can get loud and angry on social media; so, being prompt, friendly and understanding makes a big difference.

Also, it doesn’t make a difference if it makes you mad that consumers use social media and blogging to complain about companies. They are, so take it as an opportunity, not a nuisance.

Paid Promotions Can Get Results

Besides complaining on social media, users are interacting with brands in big ways on these platforms. The key is getting your content seen.

If you’re looking to grow your social media presence, paid campaigns can help. Promote clever posts on Facebook and important messages on Twitter. Many posts don’t take a large budget (especially if you are targeting a specific area or age demographic) and can get you a larger, more engaged following.

Just make sure you have ample calls-to-action and links to your website to make paid campaigns (and time spent on social media marketing) generate a higher ROI. Tabs to newsletter sign ups, free high-quality e-book downloads, and even exclusive discounts are all ways to make your social media marketing go beyond the likes and into a crucial part of your online presence.

]]>http://marketingland.com/what-to-do-beyond-the-like-moving-past-followers-fans-59199/feed1How Will Discovery Change Search & Social?http://marketingland.com/how-will-discovery-change-search-social-56325
http://marketingland.com/how-will-discovery-change-search-social-56325#commentsMon, 26 Aug 2013 13:05:14 +0000http://marketingland.com/?p=56325Don’t know what you want to do on Friday night? Open up the Gravy app and let it know that you feel like doing something brainy. The local discovery app uses your location and suggests book readings, speakers, and/or writing groups that are all happening within 25 miles of you. Welcome to the world of […]

]]>Don’t know what you want to do on Friday night? Open up the Gravy app and let it know that you feel like doing something brainy. The local discovery app uses your location and suggests book readings, speakers, and/or writing groups that are all happening within 25 miles of you.

Welcome to the world of social and local discovery. These services and apps take your preferences, location, social activity (through connection to social media sites like Facebook and Twitter) and demographic information to suggest events, links, and more.

In a world with Internet information overload, users are looking for easier and faster ways to find stuff to do and content to read without having to dig for it.

Making The Jump To Discovery Apps

Sure, not everyone is finding all their information through discovery apps like Gravy or Potluck. But it’s not too early for marketers to start thinking about getting involved in discovery apps and services. Gravy has sponsors (LivingSocial is one), and having an active presence on these sites (both as a company and as individuals through employee branding) should become a part of every business’ local and e-commerce strategy.

One of the reasons why discovery services work so well is because they can connect to a user’s social networks, which already have a built-in history of friends, preferences, and interests. This availability of existing social network data makes finding events and information for users available right from the get-go, rather than requiring a waiting period while the app finds current behavior to create a user profile.

And because instant results are what users want, discovery is going to be a lot bigger than we all might be ready for.

Discovery Apps Make Personalized Data Useful

Building on personalized user data will help apps be more intuitive and helpful than ever before. We are relying on apps and technology to make our lives as easy as possible. Besides finding events and interesting content, personal assistant apps like Donna and Cue that also connect your other services (including your email, calendar, and Facebook events) let you know when you should leave for the airport, what room your meeting is in, or the nearest networking event that you can tackle during your lunch break.

By promoting the use of technology to take care of users’ schedules and social lives, discovery developers are hoping to tap into a huge market of data from existing social media and online services, thus generating custom experiences with a focus on display generation, not information.

Getting Found In Local Discovery Engines

For a business that wants to get found in local and online discovery engines, the key is involvement and current online data. Many discovery apps automatically pull data from RSS feeds, social media pages, event calendars and more to generate users’ results. Businesses are much more likely to get shown in results when these online portals are kept up to date.

Businesses, no matter their industry, should also experiment with different paid promotion strategies to see what works best for them. Yelp offers paid targeting for users looking for local services — businesses can become a featured business at the top of search results or have a call-to-action button installed on their company listing.

Additionally, FourSquare and Facebook Places allow businesses to offer incentives for users that check into their location. Many of these incentives have a special icon next to them, thus standing out in discovery search results.

For content discovery, businesses should look into content syndication (through sites like Business2Community and Google News) and focus on generating high-quality content that is targeted to their specific market and industry.

Building up a social media presence can also get more exposure, which may be a factor in discovery algorithms. Posting on other top industry blogs can also help get more exposure, as they may have more weight than your own website.

For instance, a unique post written on Marketing Land (which has over 16k likes on Facebook and over 44k follows on Google+) may have more weight than one published on my own blog, even though posted by the same writer on the same topic, simply because Marketing Land has more traffic and social influence than I do.

To find these opportunities, query the blogs you read regularly and search [industry keyword+write for us] to try to find opportunities. While most places don’t pay for guest posts, the exposure is worth the time and effort.

Conclusion

No matter what kind of discovery your business needs to focus on, services like Gravy, Donna, and Potluck aren’t going away anytime soon. As users find more ways to rely on their mobile devices and the Internet, marketers need to be ready to ensure that their businesses can easily be found online.

You can make this happen by providing unique personalized experiences through the business directly or via partnerships with services that connect people to what they didn’t know they wanted. A more streamlined life filled with fun events that your friends will like is only a few clicks away, and users are flocking to discovery services to make it all happen.

]]>http://marketingland.com/how-will-discovery-change-search-social-56325/feed05 Reasons Why Your Business Shouldn’t Be On Social Mediahttp://marketingland.com/5-reasons-why-you-should-not-be-on-social-media-52585
http://marketingland.com/5-reasons-why-you-should-not-be-on-social-media-52585#commentsMon, 29 Jul 2013 13:00:53 +0000http://marketingland.com/?p=52585Many people who don’t truly understand social media believe they need to be on it “just because everyone else is.” However, there are several reasons why not participating in all types of social media could be okay for some companies, especially if they aren’t doing it correctly. Failing to follow social media best practices could […]

]]>Many people who don’t truly understand social media believe they need to be on it “just because everyone else is.” However, there are several reasons why not participating in all types of social media could be okay for some companies, especially if they aren’t doing it correctly.

Failing to follow social media best practices could actually dampen your online presence and brand sentiment.

Below are some of the reasons why it’s better for some companies to stay away from social media.

1. You Don’t Update

The cardinal sin in social media is establishing a presence and not updating it regularly once you have it all set up. For many customers or potential customers, this looks worse than not having a presence at all.

Not staying current online shows customers that you may not be current in other things, like your inventory or customer service. After all, if you can’t update a Facebook page, why should your customers believe that you’re on top of your game anywhere else?

2. You Aren’t In The Right Industry

Should your plumbing business have a LinkedIn page targeting new customers? I would argue no. Just because a social network is available, it doesn’t mean that your business needs to be on it. The main point is this: don’t talk just to talk, especially if no one is going to listen to you.

Additionally, posting content in the wrong medium just makes you look desperate and too “salesy.” Find out what networks work best for your industry, and focus on those instead of trying to be everywhere at once.

3. You Don’t Know What You’re Doing

Once you’ve nailed down the social networks to focus on and have committed to posting regularly, content comes next. Just because you share photos of your grandson or complain about your employees on your personal Facebook page, it doesn’t mean that you should be doing it on your business page or Twitter profile.

Instead, focus on providing content that your target customers would be interested in. If you are a plumber, focus on posting and writing content about plumbing maintenance, dream bathrooms, or the most expensive toilets. Announcements about seasonal specials, office hour changes, or new employees can find a place on social media, too.

A good rule of thumb is to post 60-70% industry-related news and content, and 40-30% personalized content (such as updates about company events, team culture or employee birthdays). Customers like feeling informed on the companies they connect with on social media and know they can trust them. And, trust is built through sharing a bit of personal information that showcases how your company ticks.

4. You Don’t Respond

A great social media presence doesn’t end with just posting content. You need to make sure you are responding to comments, questions, and posts from your user base that is trying to interact with you.

Just as not posting at all has a negative connotation, so does not responding to users trying to talk to you. Make it a priority to check for comments and questions at least once a day (more, depending on how large your audience is and how active your community is).

5. You Don’t Make It Worth Your While

Social media is there for you to build and interact with your target audience — take advantage of it! Ask your community for their opinions on company products, policies, and services.

Listen to what they have to say. Many companies regularly get better feedback through social media than they ever could through a focus group, which is often more time-consuming and expensive.

Social Media Builds Brand & Trust When Done Right

Social media presents a unique opportunity to connect and build trust with your customers. Whether you are promoting a new product or sharing the coolest home office, social media gives companies and users alike a way to interact like never before.

]]>http://marketingland.com/5-reasons-why-you-should-not-be-on-social-media-52585/feed5Why Content, Social Media & Great Websites Are Now Considered “The Basics”http://marketingland.com/why-content-social-media-great-websites-are-now-considered-the-basics-49541
http://marketingland.com/why-content-social-media-great-websites-are-now-considered-the-basics-49541#commentsMon, 01 Jul 2013 13:49:58 +0000http://marketingland.com/?p=49541Internet users have gotten spoiled. We expect the brands we interact with to be on top of their blog, website, and social media feeds — so when one isn’t, it really stands out. People who spend the majority of their working day connected to the Internet want to be able to find the information they’re […]

Internet users have gotten spoiled. We expect the brands we interact with to be on top of their blog, website, and social media feeds — so when one isn’t, it really stands out.

People who spend the majority of their working day connected to the Internet want to be able to find the information they’re looking for quickly and in an easily digestible format. If your online presence is lacking, then not only will they judge your company — they might find another company who does online marketing better than you.

Online Content

Not all companies have to have a blog. But if an online user is searching for a plumber and comes across one who has great articles about fixing common plumbing issues or has a Facebook page that is updated even weekly with questions and company updates, they may feel more inclined to work with that company than one with no online presence.

Your online presence is now a precursor to how your customers interact with you. By setting yourself up as a resource through helpful blog posts and making it as easy as possible to be found online through local search listings and social media, you are only doing good things.

Social Media

For business owners who don’t use social media on a personal basis, it can be difficult to comprehend the concept of spending time and resources on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and similar sites. However, even though they may not get it, they have to understand the sheer magnitude of people that do love social media and are on it multiple times each day.

Simply being on these top social networking sites and updating fairly regularly can have a significant impact on the numbers of new customers finding your company online. And what’s more, users expect it.

Visiting a company’s website and noticing social media icons or widgets makes you want to connect further with them. Users connect with companies via social media because they want to stay updated on what the company is doing. Companies need to respect that aspect of social media and realize the relevance it has for their business.

Website Design

It can be said enough: Bad website design will kill potential customer sales. If a user can’t:

Figure out how to turn off a terrible mobile site

Find what they are looking for immediately

Close a ton of pop-ups just to read information

Navigate and search a site easily

…then they are going to leave your website. The online user attention span was 8 seconds in 2012 and the average user only reads about 110 words of content before deciding whether to leave or read more.

A website has only a few seconds to convince a user to stay and purchase from or contact the company. Mediocre website design just isn’t cutting it anymore. Step up to the plate and hire a designer, or use an easy website CMS (like WordPress) to create a site that is simple, easy to use, and visually appealing.

A Final Word of Caution

Even though I have just espoused the values of social media, content, and great web design, there are instances where these marketing methods can hurt you– inactivity. Don’t create a Facebook page or Twitter profile and then never update it. It’s better not to do anything at all. Just with any other type of marketing or exposure, it will only work as well as the time put into it.

Just as a user may judge for a crappy website, they will judge even harder for expired coupons or a Facebook page that hasn’t been updated in months. Committing to internet marketing means that you are recognizing the importance the internet holds for people finding your business. The yellow pages isn’t enough anymore– get out there and create some internet breadcrumbs for your customers to follow.

]]>http://marketingland.com/why-content-social-media-great-websites-are-now-considered-the-basics-49541/feed1How To Make The Most Of The Google+ Design Changeshttp://marketingland.com/how-to-make-the-most-of-the-google-design-changes-45872
http://marketingland.com/how-to-make-the-most-of-the-google-design-changes-45872#commentsMon, 03 Jun 2013 13:00:50 +0000http://marketingland.com/?p=45872Google announced at Google I/O this month that it’s introducing a number of changes to Google+, which mainly affect the site design as well as usability. The two most noticeable changes were probably the cover photo for pages and profiles, which has been enlarged greatly, and the redesigned gchat, which Google has rebranded as Google Hangout […]

]]>Google announced at Google I/O this month that it’s introducing a number of changes to Google+, which mainly affect the site design as well as usability.

The two most noticeable changes were probably the cover photo for pages and profiles, which has been enlarged greatly, and the redesigned gchat, which Google has rebranded as Google Hangout (to tie in with the existing Google Hangout video chat).

The revised chat layout, which feels a lot more modern than the existing gchat, is also now being slowly rolled out for users to use in Gmail. User profiles in Google Hangout directly link to their Google+ profiles, showing that Google is now, more than ever, invested in creating a cross-promotional platform for all their product offerings.

For individuals who manage profiles and company pages, there are a number of changes that can enrich the way others see and interact with your page.

Cover Photo

The previous dimensions for a Google+ cover photo was 940 x 180 pixels. The updated layout now allows for 2120 x 1192 pixels for a graphic. This gives companies a lot more creative freedom because they have more space to play around in and can promote something specific for their brand.

While many of the popular pages on Google+ are opting to use the bigger size to make a modern, bold statement instead of including several pockets of text or photos, there isn’t a right or wrong way to display your most important information.

Kia Google Plus Cover Photo

For local businesses, adding your address and phone number to the image might be your best bet. For product companies, using the space to promote a sale or your newest product could be a good way to get users’ attention on your latest developments first. Either way, spend time on your cover photo to create one that stands out.

Local Reviews

This is a feature on individual users’ profiles that allow them to display reviews of local businesses. Some company pages have this tab as well, and it is assumed that this tab feature will eventually be rolled out to all pages and profiles.

This means that it is important to start asking your customers for reviews on Google+, as well as Yelp or other review sites, when they have the time. Having a good mixture of reviews that are realistic and cover all ends of the spectrum will help your potential customers get a good idea of what your company culture and customer service is like.

Because Google+ has already started rolling this out, it is important to begin asking for reviews as soon as your page has the tab available. In addition, Google has continued to partner with sites like Groupon for its Google Offers page; and, many companies are now offering exclusive offline and online discounts, which can be redeemed in person using the Google Offers app. These offers could soon be a permanent part of every company page, as well.

Column Layout & Information Cards

To go with the wider format for the cover photos, Google is also rolling out a 3-column format for your stream, which is filled with updates from pages you’ve liked or users that are in your circles. Debra Donston-Miller of Information Week claims that the layout looks a lot like Pinterest, and is being rolled out to all users gradually, much like the rest of the major updates.

Besides the column layout, profile information is now laid out in “cards,” which are sections of information broken up into blocks with colorful headers:

Editing each of these cards individually is much easier than the previous profile editing process. Just click “Edit” at the bottom of each card to change or add some of that card’s information.

Some SEOs and avid users of Google+ have claimed that more popular or prolific pages and users are getting them first. The rollout has been happening since late 2012. This is still an important update for businesses and individuals to keep in mind, as claiming your vanity URL should continue to be a top priority, whenever it becomes available.

Google has been notifying people via email or an alert when they sign into their profile. Be sure to use your company name or full name when registering your vanity URL. Make it professional and easy to understand.

No matter which of these updates is important to you, it is critical to be cognizant of updates as they occur so your pages and profiles are taking advantage of what Google+ has to offer. A pixelated cover photo or a blank About section will only drive users away, costing you potential connections and customers.

]]>http://marketingland.com/how-to-make-the-most-of-the-google-design-changes-45872/feed1How To Organize A Social Media Content Strategyhttp://marketingland.com/how-to-organize-a-social-media-content-strategy-42034
http://marketingland.com/how-to-organize-a-social-media-content-strategy-42034#commentsMon, 06 May 2013 13:02:42 +0000http://marketingland.com/?p=42034Crafting a content strategy for social media is just as important as developing a strategy for what is published on the company blog and website. Social media is one of the main megaphones that a company uses to create its overall online presence, which in turn shapes brand recognition and sentiment. Social media has developed to […]

]]>Crafting a content strategy for social media is just as important as developing a strategy for what is published on the company blog and website. Social media is one of the main megaphones that a company uses to create its overall online presence, which in turn shapes brand recognition and sentiment.

Social media has developed to the point that it is now more than putting a message out online and hoping for the best. Because the users are smarter and have made social media a part of their lives, it is up to companies to make the most out of every post and update they publish.

Social media management is a constant and ongoing process due to the nature of the instant, online world in which social networks live. When it comes to developing a content strategy for social media channels, it often works best for passionate, dedicated people to collaborate across departments, rather than handing the task off to the marketing department. By getting input from a variety of sectors within a company, a social media content strategy can really succeed.

Brainstorming

Using employees in different departments can be a great benefit to your company’s social media strategy.

For instance, the project development coordinator will have the best information on new products, which can be translated into photos and discussion questions via sites like Instagram, Vine, and Facebook. The human resources recruiter will know about job openings, and the marketing content writer can give some great copy that ties in to current company branding campaigns or seasonal promotions.

Brainstorming sessions that include engaged employees in a variety of different areas can help begin to craft the subject matter and types of content that are going to be shared via social media.

Go With What Works

Besides getting a good overall view of what the company can share via social networks, it’s also important to go with what works, which means sharing the type of content that gets the highest engagement.

It has been shown that photos and videos can draw more engagement than text-only updates, so this needs to be taken into consideration. Using a photo linkbait website like Quotes Cover can make it easy to share text through a visual format.

For instance, this quote would go over great on a music artist’s Pinterest account or a streaming music service’s Facebook page. In addition, capturing a video of the company’s CEO giving his most recent talk at a conference will most likely be more popular than sharing a written recap of the speech.

Users also appreciate variety. Share links and give written updates, but also share videos, interact with user posts, and post photos and graphics regularly. A social media account with variety goes a long way.

For social accounts that focus on one medium, like Vine or Instagram, it’s just important to vary the type of content that is being shown. An employee lunch one day and showcasing a new product the next can give variety while using the same medium.

Choose How To Share

Once the content itself has been ironed out, it’s time to create a social media publishing calendar. Cloud-sourced documents are a great way to keep everyone instantly up-to-date on the social media content strategy for the week or month. There are a variety of tools available, including Google Docs, Google Calendar, and Evernote.

Some social media publishing platforms also allow multiple users to access the same company account, so it’s easy for many users to simultaneously view upcoming posts and account data. The team should experiment to see what works best for them.

Besides creating a calendar, keep a running Google Doc or online file (on a site like WorkFlowy or Evernote) with ideas for future social media content posts like quotes, links, videos, and more. This helps with writer’s block and provides inspiration.

Utilize Metrics & Reporting

Social media content teams should take advantage of data and metrics to better optimize what they are posting. Facebook provides Link shorteners that can provide click and sharing metrics, while Google Analytics’ social media reports (located under Traffic Sources) can give goal-oriented data to see how many social media referrals completed conversions and the most popular content that was accessed. These reports should be reviewed on a recurring basis.

Yes, social media content strategy is more than posting content online and hoping for the best. By implementing a clear, concise strategy, companies will find better engagement and brand recognition than others who don’t have a plan in place.

]]>http://marketingland.com/how-to-organize-a-social-media-content-strategy-42034/feed3Do Users Want To Access Social Media From Anywhere?http://marketingland.com/do-users-want-to-be-able-to-access-social-media-from-anywhere-38367
http://marketingland.com/do-users-want-to-be-able-to-access-social-media-from-anywhere-38367#commentsMon, 08 Apr 2013 13:00:25 +0000http://marketingland.com/?p=38367My dad was proud of his new “Internet-smart” TV and wanted to show it off to me on St. Patrick’s Day weekend last month. He showed me how he could log onto Facebook and view photos, update his status, etc. As he was showing me, all I could think was, “Would anyone really use this?” […]

My dad was proud of his new “Internet-smart” TV and wanted to show it off to me on St. Patrick’s Day weekend last month. He showed me how he could log onto Facebook and view photos, update his status, etc.

As he was showing me, all I could think was, “Would anyone really use this?” Judging by the time it took him to navigate to my profile, I concluded that surfing social media sites through a TV isn’t ideal. But, he was excited because he could log into Facebook from his TV — not because he necessarily wanted to.

This got me thinking: does social media need to be everywhere? Perhaps there should be some parameters for integrating social media into products and services.

Just like with social media account creation, companies are adding social media integration to everything just because. Social media should only be implemented when it is part of a well-thought-out plan that ties into what a user is already doing (e.g., maybe my dad would like it if he could share that he’s currently watching The Mentalist on Facebook so he and his friends could talk about it). Without this desire or call-to-action, social media integration is not only useless, but potentially overwhelming to users.

Social Media Has To Be Easy

Typing from your remote is tedious, much like T9 texting from an old-fashioned cell phone. To implement social media or another type of available communication service, technology needs to make it as easy as possible. Maybe my dad’s new TV should have come with a keyboard and mouse. Or, it could have had voice recognition to automatically create status updates or tweets.

Today’s connected generation has a fleeting attention span, and making things as easy as possible will guarantee regular use.

Social Media Has To Be On Their Terms

Nobody likes to be forced to connect their social media accounts with a service, or to only be eligible for an exclusive discount or page access if they tweet about a company on Twitter.

The sole purpose of social media is for users to share what they are doing and what they care about most, and it will backfire if a company believes in forcing users to add or use their social media accounts in order to complete an action.

Social Media Has To Serve A Purpose

The question, “Why does a TV need to tweet?” really has no useful answer; so, the way the TV, Internet and social media profiles work together needs to change. Maybe a user can participate in unique Twitter chats about shows they are watching. Or, they can tweet from their TV for exclusive giveaways. Maybe the TV could update a user’s Twitter account every time they watch an entire TV program. Did the user share on Facebook that they like The Walking Dead? The TV can auto-record the show or remind them when it’s about to come on.

The possibilities for uniting television and social media are endless; but, it will only work if a user feels that it adds to their experience and ability to connect with their social network.

GetGlue is a good example of an app that connects incentives, social media and television. What if my dad’s TV could automatically check him into every show he watched, or let him know when there was an exclusive GetGlue chat about one of the shows he checks into regularly?

Social Media Has To Be Collaborative, Not Promotional

No matter the technology or the methods of implementing a user’s social media profile, companies should never try to promote its products and usage without user consent. Instead, companies should focus on offering the best platform possible in order give users a way to share what they want to share, instead of being backed into a corner by gadgets asking them to tweet where they are or what they are doing next.

]]>http://marketingland.com/do-users-want-to-be-able-to-access-social-media-from-anywhere-38367/feed2Is Social Content Curation The Next “Better” Thing?http://marketingland.com/is-social-content-curation-the-next-better-thing-35225
http://marketingland.com/is-social-content-curation-the-next-better-thing-35225#commentsMon, 11 Mar 2013 13:00:25 +0000http://marketingland.com/?p=35225Social content curation has blown up in the past year, after a late start that began to show traction around 2007-2008. Pinterest continues to experience massive growth, with Wanelo nipping at its heels. Social media users have gotten smarter when it comes to sharing; many are no longer posting Facebook statuses about what they ate […]

Social media users have gotten smarter when it comes to sharing; many are no longer posting Facebook statuses about what they ate and are instead using social networks to share their passions, ideas, and content they love.

Social Media Content Value For Brands

The value of content for brands has been slow and time-coming, but businesses are beginning to realize it’s not the fact that you are on social media that counts; it’s what you are publishing. The old-time image of a CEO coming out of his office and proclaiming, “Well, we better get on Twitter,” is transforming into “We now have hundreds of thousands of followers, let’s start showing them some great content.”

Social networks like Pinterest have made it relatively easy to share content in an attractive way through images.

Because technology is making it possible to access the entire Internet anywhere a person goes, thanks to rampant wifi and cell-tower access, users are actually getting better at and more accustomed to consuming a large amount of content on a consistent basis. Most people are no longer interested in just following their high school classmates on Twitter or Facebook. They now want to know what value there is in what they have to say.

It was nice to be able to know that your former 8th grade best friend just had her second child, but reading about 500 different former friends in your newsfeed is overwhelming. So, people are searching for something different. Hence, custom curated content targeted toward specific individuals and their interests has gained a lot of traction.

Content Curation Platforms

The folks over at Medium (who formally were involved with Blogger and Twitter) have the right idea. They wanted to leverage great content on a central platform that could get more exposure than blogs that aren’t as popular. Great content can exist in all corners of the Internet, and bringing it to the foreground via content-sharing and curation platforms makes it easier to find.

Content aggregators continue to help users “cut through the noise on social media,” as Storify and Scoop.it promise. They allow users to share their passions through filtering the best content about a certain topic. Users can choose to “scoop” the content Scoop.it has chosen, or s/he can scoop pages they’ve come across browsing along. Scoop.it is the evolution of sites like HubPages and Squidoo, as it doesn’t rely on users to generate their own content. Instead, it pulls great content that has already been created into a single space. Paper.li is also a good example of this.

However, collective platforms aren’t the only thing gaining popularity. Aggregated individual profiles, such as RebelMouse and Vizify, allow users to automatically aggregate their shared content across several online platforms into one page.

Graphic and visual layout of aggregated content is what is gaining the most traction in the online content space today.

Users want something that is easy to navigate, yet visually appealing enough to keep their interest. Because technology is always at their fingertips, making things as easy as possible (hence the automatic aggregation from the many of sites mentioned) is what readers are wanting.

Copyright Concerns

Pinterest came under fire last year for allowing copyrighted content to be pinned by users. Thus, came a new effort to make sure that content was attributed to its rightful creator. However, as long as individuals and businesses are getting the correct attribution, they should be excited about getting their content curated and should do everything they can to promote it.

Overall, curation leads to greater exposure, which can only lead to good things for the website, blog, company or individual it leads back to. When curating content, all efforts should be made to find the original poster or owner. Additionally, there is a greater possibility of this when the creators themselves are part of the curation community, sharing their own content as well as others’.

Participating in content curation can be fairly easy, if using one of the sites mentioned, especially when it comes to pulling content based on keywords or other social media profiles. However, this type of content curation is useless if online users aren’t contributing their own content once in a while. Well-written content will continue to thrive online as users become more accustomed to finding the best content they can, as easily as possible.

]]>http://marketingland.com/is-social-content-curation-the-next-better-thing-35225/feed13Where Will Facebook Marketing Be In The Next Nine Years?http://marketingland.com/where-will-facebook-marketing-be-in-the-next-nine-years-32499
http://marketingland.com/where-will-facebook-marketing-be-in-the-next-nine-years-32499#commentsMon, 11 Feb 2013 13:57:17 +0000http://marketingland.com/?p=32499This month marks the nine year anniversary of when Facebook (then known as TheFacebook.com) was first conceived and created by Mark Zuckerberg. Since then, Facebook has grown by leaps and bounds, currently supporting over one billion active users (as of December 2012) and over 618 million active daily users. Facebook’s capabilities and layouts have undergone […]

This month marks the nine year anniversary of when Facebook (then known as TheFacebook.com) was first conceived and created by Mark Zuckerberg.

Since then, Facebook has grown by leaps and bounds, currently supporting over one billion active users (as of December 2012) and over 618 million active daily users.

Facebook’s capabilities and layouts have undergone the most obvious changes over the last nine years, and the way that marketers have learned to connect with users has grown, as well.

For marketers, the next nine years bring a variety of opportunities to further connect with their online audience, including using video and making pages more interactive.

Custom Page Tabs

Custom tabs on Facebook pages aren’t a new thing, but the applications that support the way they are built and designed continue to grow. FBML (also known as Facebook Markup Language) can help programmers create custom tabs that can help users subscribe to a mailing list, get more information about a company, or even enter into a giveaway.

However, in the next nine years, it is easy to surmise that custom Facebook tabs will continue to get more fluid and diverse, offering users a custom browsing experience, right in Facebook.

As capabilities continue to expand, marketers can look forward to creating entire websites or online shopping experiences in Facebook Pages. As it stands now, this is an extremely difficult and almost impossible feat: to have an error-free, robust interactive tab that allows the user to stay within Facebook. Application developers will continue to make custom tabs a lot easier to use and build, making great design more accessible to more page owners.

Just as Google+ has had some success in promoting the easy-to-use video hangouts, Facebook already has a massive existing user base that could begin holding their own video chats, right from Facebook. This would be a great opportunity for companies to hold customer or blogger discussions in video chat, to teach about new products or gather user feedback. Users could also get together to discuss pop culture, such as movies and new TV shows, sponsored by the production companies and cable networks.

The new update also gave users the capacity to record and send voice memos to others. While we can be fairly certain that most users don’t want companies to send them audio recordings, it could be a way to receive feedback from users or hold contests.

The ability to record video and voice shows that Facebook believes the movement toward sharing and communicating through different types of media and content will only continue to grow.

Facebook-Exclusive Content

Video and voice content by users on Facebook also highlights a growing emphasis on creating unique content directly on the Facebook platform. This trend could continue to grow and flourish with written content as well.

Even though Facebook has done away with their old Notes feature, which was a blogging type platform, one could argue that online written content still has a strong and loyal presence with online users. Introducing an exclusive blogging platform for Facebook users that allows for more customization and better features (such as video or voice blogs, as well as the ability to gain revenue from advertisements) could be another possibility.

Marketers that wish to grow their readership and interaction on Facebook could have an exclusive blog for posting unique content that is different from their other blogging or social networking platforms. When it comes to marketing, many still believe that content is king. While this is always up for discussion, it can’t be disputed that more great content on more online platforms certainly can’t hurt a company or its brand.

Advertisements

Facebook advertising continues to develop, allowing for more options for marketers. Facebook Ads have always had great demographic targeting capabilities, but with the introduction of Facebook Open Graph, brands will have greater opportunities to further learn about users’ browsing habits and interests.

Whether it is better Facebook Pages, implementing video, or great advertising, Facebook will have a lot more to offer marketers and users alike in the next nine years.

As the reigning king of social media behind a permanent culture change in our society and the way it communicates, Facebook forces marketers to look beyond traditional marketing strategies and continue to grow along with it.